Brawl In Cell Block 99

Along with S. Craig Zahler, I wrote the music and a bunch of original songs for Craig’s film, Brawl in Cell Block 99, starring Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, and Don Johnson. Songs were performed by The O’Jays, Butch Tavares, and Adi Armour. The film premieres at Venice International Film Festival, with additional screenings at TIFF (Toronto), Fantastic Fest (Austin), Beyond Fest (LA), BFI London, Sitges (Barcelona), and others. The film opens in a limited run on October 6 and is available on demand on October 13, through RLJE.

9 Responses

José · March 23, 2018 at 02:51:36 · →

I really love this song – Buddy’s business! Even the movie wouldn’t be the same without the atmosphere created by this soundtrack. I’ve been trying to find the lyrics, but haven’t had luck. So, does anyone know where I can find it? If not, can you at least correct the way I hear it? English isn’t my mother tongue, that’s why I really could use you help. Thanks in advance.

Buddy don’t wanna be caught
His business is private
His girlfriend, his family don’t got a clue, noo
He lives in the shadows
He’s a killer for men (???) – (not sure)
But is he careful or not (???) – (not sure)
It’s a dangerous kind of work
His luck won’t last forever
Competition is deadly
Be careful Buddy
Buddy carries a gun
His eyes watch the rearview
Look out look out
Watch out watch out
He circles the block to make sure that nobody’s failing
How long will he last
He’s a cool guy
But he’s starting to sweat (???) – (not sure)
Is this kind of life worth it
He has a gun just in case
His partner’s in jail
But he’s not gonna miss it
He’s gotta look out for himself
It’s a dangerous kind of work
His luck won’t last forever
Competition is deadly
Be careful Buddy
BUDDY! BUDDY!
Buddy you better watch out
Buddy you better look out
You better be careful
Better watch out buddy buddy buddy
Better watch out buddy﻿

jeffherriott · April 3, 2018 at 15:23:07 · →

Thanks for your comments. I’m glad you enjoy the song. Here are the lyrics:
Buddy don’t wanna get caught. His business is private.
His girlfriend and family don’t got a clue. He lives in the shadows.
He’s a careful man, but is he careful enough?

It’s a dangerous line of work.
His luck won’t last forever.
The competition is deadly
Be careful, Buddy!

Buddy carries a gun. His eyes watch the rearview.
(echo:) Watch Out, watch Out. Look Out, look out.
He circles the block to make sure that nobody’s trailing. How long will he last.
(whisper:) Watch your back. look out

He’s a cool cat, but he’s starting to sweat. Is this kind of life worth it? There’s a gun just in case.
His partner’s in jail but he’s not gonna visit. He’s gotta look out for himself – whoo-hoo!

It’s a dangerous line of work.
His luck won’t last forever.
The competition is deadly
Be careful, Buddy!

José Sena · April 7, 2018 at 15:36:59 · →

I’m really glad that you replied! Thanks very much for helping! I admire your work and will be looking forward to hear from your future productions.

Reza · December 13, 2018 at 21:46:37 · →

Evening I was talking with my friend. I told him people leave the film, regardless of its final music.
he told me what is the point of that!? it is not important (like what most of people will say).

I said, the right music will give you the opportunity to digest the story and think about it.

few hours later, I was watching “Brawl in Cell Block 99” and at end, it was amazing with this nice ending music.

Thanks for your great work
Sincerely
Reza

jeffherriott · December 17, 2018 at 16:05:00 · →

thanks. I always sit through the credits in every film, in part to listen to the music!

M · July 23, 2019 at 21:41:37 · →

Long shot, but… I was looking for a track from Brawl. I consider it the main theme since it plays at several key moments (the decision to run the drugs with Eleazar, arrival at the prison, waking up in Block 99, etc). It’s just a succession of four notes with a slight variation, but I loved it, especially because of where and when it shows up to punctuate the happenings. Is there any way to listen to it?

P.S. It blew my mind to find out the music wasn’t period pieces but actual contemporary stuff. Also it’s all amazing. Cheers 😀

jeffherriott · July 24, 2019 at 03:46:19 · →

Thanks for the comments. Working on this music was a ton of fun. The goal for the soul tunes was to create songs in older styles, like the stuff we like to listen to, so if you thought they sounded like lost classics or deep album cuts from yesteryear, that’s good to hear.
Unfortunately, the only way to listen to those synth tracks from Brawl is as part of the film, as that music has not yet been released. Perhaps some time in the future the additional music from both Brawl and Dragged Across Concrete will emerge online or in some limited edition or both. Craig and I felt that these smaller, minimalist compositions, synth pieces, and jazz songs wouldn’t fit the mood of the respective soundtrack albums for either film and so were withheld.

M · July 27, 2019 at 00:48:52 · →

Hey, thanks for the prompt reply! And no worries, I get it. I listen to a lot of videogame soundtracks, and it’s common to see companies hold back tracks or release multiple albums to better represent the mood, as you say. Ideally for me, the unreleased music from these movies could be reworked or expanded to better fit as an album release. Or just release them raw on your website haha, although I guess there’s probably distribution rights involved there. Anyway, keep up the awesome work 😀

jeffherriott · July 27, 2019 at 02:17:26 · →

Yeah, there are some distribution rights involved, in terms of who owns the material. I love working on this stuff and would gladly make more if we have the opportunity. Thanks for the support!